The Ooze Problem
by EggplantWitch
Summary: Angel Land receives a plea of help from a neighbouring kingdom, Equestria. A wave of evil oozes have appeared, and they desperately need help to fight them off. Palutena sends her bravest - Pit, Captain of the Royal Guard - to help. Familiar heroes turn up to aid him, and with all these people and ponies to take care of, the Angel had better get organised soon or else...
1. A Three Portal Problem

**This fic is the combination of me having a sudden epiphany that a male character of mine had grown subconciously to be exactly like my protrayal of SSBB Pit, and the (unwise, because now I have that one damn song stuck in my head) decision to watch A Canterlot Wedding. Normally I wouldn't publish a fic unless it was finished because I often lose interest, but I'm hoping that other people will motivate me to finish something for once. So if you like this story, PLEASE leave a review saying so, else I might end up losing interest in it at some point :L Last thing: I guess this takes place post-SSBB and pre-Uprising, because I've never played Uprising and I'll undoubtedly break so many parts of canon without even meaning to. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, because I'm really enjoying writing it so far!**

* * *

"Captain! The Goddess demands your presence in the Portal Room immediately!" A hammer on the door made the previously slumbering Angel leap half out of his skin, bashing his elbow on the desk besides his bed in his panic.

"Aaaaah! I mean, uh, yes, coming right away!" he replied, trying to sound as normal as possible. What time was it anyway? It was only ten! Sheesh! Still, if the Goddess wanted to see him, she wanted to see him, and if she wanted to see him immediately, she wanted to see him immediately. Which mean he had to get a move on ASAP.

He leapt out of bed and picked up a toga that had been tossed on the floor the previous day, grabbing a fresh pair of underwear and shorts from the drawers and putting them on as fast as humanly (or rather, Angel-y) possible. No time to decorate himself with the various trinkets and blessings he'd been given over the years right now, there was only just enough time to strap on his sandals. He paused briefly on his way out to glower at his scruffy hair in the mirror, but he knew that no amount of combing would ever make it look better than its permanent bedhead and anyway, there was nowhere near enough time to brush that mop.

He darted down the corridor, weaving around servants and apologising to them for all he was worth. Damnit, Palutena, couldn't you wait just half an hour? But if she wanted him immediately, she wanted him immediately. After narrowly avoiding running into a maid, he screeched around the corner into what he personally called the Corridor of Importance – the one stretch of building that had that led to the corridor to the kitchen, the way out to the gym, the way upstairs and also to the Portal Room, his current destination.

Vigorous training meant he could sprint almost the entire way there, and all in all he made it to the Portal Room barely ten minutes after waking up. He charged into the room, going down into a kneel as soon as he spotted the elegant figure waiting for him, not even properly waiting to slow down (leading to a mild friction burn on his knee).

"My lady?" he said, in between breaths. He looked up to see Palutena giving him a mildly amused look. His face flushed.

"Rise, Captain. I apologise for waking you up."

"No need, I was awake and awaiting your orders."

"I find that hard to believe, Captain, knowing how much you love your beauty sleep. But I'm afraid I call you here under dire circumstances."

"Oh," his heart sank as its beat wound down. "What kind of dire circumstances?"

"Come here," she beckoned him to the font in the middle of the room, the Seer. Pit was one of the few people in the country who was trusted to use it alone, but today Palutena wanted to show him something. She cast her hand across it, and it cut to a view of a street. There were strange black globs moving across the cobbled streets. Some of them were stuck to the sides of buildings, looking like they were…dissolving it.

"What are they…?" Pit said, his breath misting over the coldness of the Seer.

"We don't know. We know them to be Darkness-elemented, destroying everything, including those made of flesh and blood. They display obvious evil, so they are not mere creatures, and yet they seem to serve no real purpose. No threat had been made to the kingdom, no blackmail note received. No leader has appeared among them. They just…devour the life of everything."

"And you haven't heard of these creatures before?"

"No, never. But this is happening in a foreign kingdom, so it is possible (and I hope it is) that this is something completely unknown to Skyworld."

"Where is this happening?"

"The kingdom of Equestria, some seventy dreights away."

"That's a long way."

"Yes, but they need our help. Their people are peaceful and kind; they have no weapons and no real army. Nothing has threatened them on this scale that they haven't been able to deal with. Such is why their rulers have sent out a plea to all neighbouring kingdoms for help. I received it only this morning."

"What do you propose we do to help?" he asked, slightly hollowly now he knew that an innocent race should be walking around on those streets, not these monstrous oozes.

"I am going to send you to help."

"Yes, I ag – woah, WHAT?! Erm, um, I mean, excuse me, my lady?" he tried to give as calm a look as possible. Her lip curved up in an almost non-existent smile.

"I am sending you to help them. Do you accept? It is a three-portal journey and you will not be able to come back unless their rulers agree to send you back."

"I…I'm not sure if I could do it on my own, my lady…"

"You won't be on your own. A group of well-known heroes in the kingdom are still active and doing their best, they only need a little bit of foreign help – it is them that I would be sending you to. Not to mention any other heroes that other kingdoms may send. I have faith in you, Captain. I would not send you so far way to something so different if I did not _know_ that you could handle it."

"I…understand, my lady. I'll go on behalf of Angel Land but I need more information on the enemy, the location and the inhabitants."

"Of course. There isn't enough time to tell you everything now, but I will send a scroll to your room when I have the time. For now, Captain, train your strength and your melee skills, I have a feeling they will be called for."

"Yes, my lady."

"You are dismissed," she told him. He gave her a short bow before leaving the room.

That was a lot to think about, especially when he'd only just gotten up, he was hungry and he needed the bathroom. It would probably make more sense when all those things were taken care of, so there was no point delaying the official start of the day any longer, was there?

* * *

"Slime-based Darkness monsters…weak to Ice…eat to grow and can divide when they get to a certain size…can eat pretty much anything…inhabitants contaminated by the monsters turn evil…no clear leader," Pit muttered to himself, pacing backwards and forwards in his room, reading from the scroll Palutena had sent him a few days ago. He paused for a moment and looked to a different section.

"Ruled by Princess Celestia and Princess…Luna. Elder raises the sun, younger raises the moon…species of rare alicorn…rule over all ponies. Yeah. Ponies. I can't believe I just said that," he paused again, screwing up his nose. Talking animals was by no means something he had trouble disbelieving, especially not after last year's 'Smash Brothers' business, but ponies was a little weird to him. Skipping a section about the history of Equestria, he got to the part about the inhabitants of Equestria.

"Three kinds…earth ponies…tend to be stronger and more durable than others…get infected less easily than others by the monsters…unicorns can levitate things…others have access to special magics…healing, teleportation, transmo – er, trans…whatever. And pegasus ponies…power of flight…lighter bone structure so they can walk on clouds…easily poisoned by monsters due to being lightweight…all ponies have a special talent represented by a…cutie mark," he paused again to pull a face. It all sounded pretty whimsical to him, but on the other hand, that's what made these monster attacks all the more horrifying.

He looked at the clock in his room. It was time. He'd packed all the things he thought he might need into his hammerspace satchel and already collected his bow from the weaponry, so he was pretty much set. Now all he needed to do was travel. So he picked the bag up in one hand, Palutena's Bow in the other and set off for the Portal Room, where Palutena would be waiting for him.

He felt undoubtedly nervous as he walked there. A foreign country, thousands upon thousands of miles away. Very nearly in a different dimension altogether it was so far away. _Three _portals! _Three_! Just _one _was considered a distance too long to be worth making without them. If it even _was _possible to get to Angel Land from Equestria without the use of a portal, it could take _years _to get back home if neither of the Equestrian monarchs would send him back. Palutena had reassured him that they were both well-meaning souls and would never willingly trap him there, but still, he didn't like putting his life in the hands (or indeed, hooves) of someone (somepony?) he'd never met before. There was no choice, it seemed…

And there he was. Entrance to the Portal Room, one of the oldest rooms in all of Angel Land. He walked up to Palutena but before he could attempt to execute the difficult move of kneeling while carrying a semi-heavy bag and a bow, the goddess held a hand out to stop him.

"No need, Captain. You have everything you need, I hope."

"I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be, my lady."

"Not quite," she said. "I have some gifts for you. A new blessing: a blessing of safety in foreign lands. I cannot guarantee it will protect you, but it _will _help you," she held out her hand, and the newest blessing hovered above it. She closed her hand, and the ring of gold appeared around Pit's arm.

"Thank you, m -"

"Wait, I have more. These are miniaturised Smash Orbs – they will give you the power to call a fraction of your army should you need it. There are but three, however, and you must use them wisely," she said. Three red gems appeared in the new blessing, like orbs of opal. But they had that sheen and glow that only a Smash Orb could have.

"Thank you, m-" he again tried to say, only to have her interrupt him once again.

"One last gift, Captain. I spoke to my brother, Fortos, God of Ice, and he forged this for you – an ice bow. Its arrows will damage the monsters far more than my light arrows will, though it will not become blades, it is breakable and should it get separated from you, it will not return to you unless you actively find it yourself."

"_Thank _you, my lady," he said, even more genuinely than he would have done a moment ago. If there was one thing that always excited him, it was new weapons. He wasn't bloodthirsty by any means (it was his job to keep the peace, after all) but there was something _enjoyable _about learning how to use a new bow or sword or dagger. He carefully broke Palutena's Bow in two so he could store it in his bag, and took the Ice Bow from her.

"Is there anything else you would like to say before I open the portal, Captain?" Palutena asked. Pit thought for a moment.

"It will be an honour to serve in your name, my lady. I…hope I won't be away for too long. That will be all."

"Very well, Captain. I shall miss you," she said sincerely. She smiled a faint smile, before a blast of air and a _whum _almost knocked the unsuspecting Angel over. The portal had been opened. Pit took one last look at his Goddess, who gave him an encouraging look, before stepping in. The last thing he heard was:

"Goodbye, Pit!" being called by her, and then he was through.

* * *

**Good start? Yes/no? If yes, why? If no, what can I do to change your mind about that? By all means, criticism is welcomed BUT ONLY IF you tell me HOW I can improve. Or else it's just pointless. Anyway, if you have an SSBB character you desperately want to appear at some point, leave it in a review! Only characters who are so far definitely not going to appear are the Pokemon ones, just because they don't make any sense in my head. Anyway, again, if you're still here thank you so much! The only thing that would mean more is if you'd only REVIEW! Sorry to be so begging, but I honestly need FEEDBACK here.**


	2. Of Monsters and Mares

**Back for Chapter 2, aw yeah. If you're still here, thanks! Every view I get makes me happy, for lack of a better way to put it. Just a note before anything else happens, I find it really REALLY hard to get Princess Luna in-character now that she's learnt how to be a bit more modern, if you know what I mean. Hopefully I don't do too badly with her but...well, we'll see. Onwards!  
**

* * *

There were two portal stations after that, ones set up by the Gods. He had to hesitate before he went through the third one. This was the one that was going to take him to Equestria. He hoped that these ponies would be welcoming of his help, and wouldn't frown on him because he was human. Gods, it would be terrible if they did that. He was used to being a minority, but without any other humanoids he'd feel even lonelier than he had when he was without just his Angel brethren. There was no use getting scared now, and certainly no use admitting it. He took a deep breath in, and stepped through the last one.

He heard a collection of gasps as he stepped through, and flopped straight onto the floor with a clunk.

"Ow," he said, and then leapt up, embarrassed that the first glimpse those he was trying to help got of him was him falling flat on his face. He looked up into a pair of violet eyes, eagerly looking at him. He rapidly stepped back, momentarily startled by the large eyes being so close to him. Taking that step back, he could see that there were four ponies here. The one that had been up in his personal space was a purple unicorn, who looked awed. The one that really drew his gaze was the tall one, almost twice the height of him, with charcoal fur.

"You are the hero from Skyworld, correct?" the tall one asked. It (or she, rather, since she sounded female) was an alicorn – royalty.

"Er, yes! Captain Pit Icari of Palutena's Guard, reporting on behalf of the Goddess," he said, in his most official-sounding voice.

"But yer nuthin' but a colt!" a semi-outraged voice came from an orange pony.

"A what?" Pit frowned.

"Yes, I thought you'd be…older," the purple unicorn said. Pit huffed.

"Fine, I'll go back ho…" he trailed off as the portal he came out of closed up. Well. That was it then. He was officially stuck here.

He felt a kind of overwhelming loneliness and fear creep up on him, but he was snapped out of it by the alicorn.

"Captain Pit, it is an honour to have your assistance. I am Princess Luna, Guardian of the Night. These are the wielders of the Elements of Magic, Loyalty and Honesty: Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, respectively."

"Er, nice to meet you. I would shake hands but, you know," he said, holding out his hand to emphasize. And then he leapt three feet in the air. "AAAAAH! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HANDS!?"

"Oh, of course, you're from a land where there are no ponies," Luna said thoughtfully. "You've temporarily become one of us. As soon as you leave Equestria you will regain your normal form."

"But…but I…hooves! How am I supposed to use a bow and arrow with _hooves_?!"

"Uh, what kinda dumb question is that?" the pegasus, Rainbow Dash said. Not that she looked anything like the pegasi back at Palutena's Palace. She was blue, with a mane that was all the colours of the rainbow. "This is your bow, right?" she trotted over to the Ice Bow, which was still on the floor from where he'd dropped it when he fell in.

"Um, yes."

"So long as you're _flying_…" she demonstrated, fluttering into the air by a couple of inches. "It should be easy." She, _somehow_, picked the bow up in her hoof. She pulled back the string with her other hoof, and despite himself Pit said:

"If you're right-handed – or, er, hoofed – you're holding it the wrong way."

"Hey, I'm not an _archer_, I'm a _flier_," Rainbow Dash protested, dropping the bow in front of him.

"I apologise for cutting your introductions short but we need to move to a safer location – we had to take a huge risk in even setting hoof in Canterlot," Luna said.

"I guess it's taken over by the monsters," Pit said, following the alicorn as she started to lead them out of the derelict-looking hall. Maybe it had been a Portal Room too, at some point, but now it looked like it had been munched on by the monsters.

"So how're you s'posed ta help _us_?" the orange pony, Applejack, said, giving him an incredulous look. "Ya ain't even full-grown."

"I don't get why it matters how old I am. It only matters that I'm the highest-ranking military official in the whole of Angel Land."

"How did you get to such a high position at such a young age?" Twilight Sparkle, the purple unicorn, asked.

"Saving the world."

"Oh. So you're _that _kind of hero," she said with a knowing smile. Pit wasn't sure what she meant. He would have voiced this; apart from they just strolled past a mirror. He stopped dead to look at himself in the shards of reflective glass, forcing the others to stop too.

He saw a pegasus pony with white fur looking back at him with the same bright, wide blue eyes that he'd always had. His hair-now-mane was still the same tufty mop that it always was, apart from now he had a tail to match. He swished this without even meaning to, amazed at how his brain had automatically rewired to be able to use all the extra appendages he had. A tail! And two extra legs! It was weird, to say the least. He was shorter than the other ponies, and proportionately his eyes were slightly larger and his legs a little longer – presumably this was how teenage ponies looked. He flapped his wings weakly. They didn't look anywhere near big enough to support his weight.

"Are you done gawkin' at yerself?" Applejack said.

"Sorry…it's just a bit weird. I wonder if…" He bounded forwards a couple of steps and fluttered his wings for all he was worth. He shot into the sky with a delighted gasp. "Oh my Gods!"

"What now?" Rainbow Dash asked, flying up into the sky alongside him. Pit was ecstatic.

"I can _fly_!"

"I thought you were a flying guy anyway."

"I'm an Angel, but I couldn't fly properly. And now I can! OhmyGodsohmyGodsohmyGods this is amazing!"

"What kind of Angel cannot fly?" this seemed to stump Luna. That stung a little, even though she clearly didn't mean it maliciously.

"The kind that had to learn to rely on other skills to get him through life," Pit told her, settling on the ground again. He fluttered his wings again, not even trying to bite down the gleeful grin that had spread across his ponified face despite the remark just made by the Princess.

"I am sorry for having to cut your fun short, but Equestria is in the middle of a monster invasion way beyond our control. We need to fill you in with the details," Luna said, started to ascend a spiral staircase.

"Where are we going?" he asked first.

"To the Astronomy Tower. It is high up, an area the monsters did not quite manage to make it to. It also offers an excellent view of the remains of Canterlot. We have been using it as our base."

"Is it just us?"

"We were hopin' other heroes would show up," said Applejack. "Yer the first we got."

"But as for Equestrians, we are one of several groups," Twilight Sparkle explained. "My other friends, the Bearers of Laughter, Kindness and Generosity are all in our home town of Ponyville trying to create a cure."

"My lady Palutena's report said that the monsters infect ponies and turned them evil. I guess you're talking about a cure to that?"

"Yes, and I have heard that progress is being made," said Luna. She pushed open the door at the top of the staircase with her hoof and stepped through. "Shut the door behind you," she instructed as the last of the group, Rainbow Dash, walked in.

The astronomy did indeed look untouched, if a little dusty. The circular dome of glass that made up the roof showed a view of nothing but grey clouds, but it wasn't this that Luna wanted to show Pit. She beckoned him over to a door that led out onto a balcony, and it was from there that he could see the damage.

It was a scene of horror. Buildings half-demolished and crumbled, dark purple stains on the landscape that bubbled and oozed, rubble scattered everywhere. Pit had seen a few battlefields in his life-time, but the fact that this particular battlefield was missing something made him shiver. There were no bodies. No skeletons, no corpses. Normally that would be considered a good thing, but not this time. This time the casualties were being mind-controlled. Not a good thing at all.

"This is what our once-great city has been reduced to, Captain," Luna said, sadness clear in her voice. "I have heard that you are an excellent tactician as well as an archer."

"Um, I guess I _am _pretty good at it. I don't know about _excellent_…"

"I believe Palutena herself said it, and she is the Goddess of Wisdom, is she not?" Pit wasn't sure how to respond to that. He was saved from having to by Twilight sticking her head out the door and saying:

"Luna, I want to send a message to Ponyville to tell them the first hero has arrived to help, is there anything you want me to say?"

"No, Twilight Sparkle, I have nothing to tell them that you could not tell them yourself," the Princess said, not taking her gaze from the wrecked landscape. Pit wasn't sure he'd ever seen anyone look so melancholy without actually crying.

"Very well, Princess…you should come inside, we have food."

"Oh, I have food, I'll share some," Pit piped up, jogging the satchel-turned-saddlebag.

"That would be wonderful, thank you, Captain," the unicorn nodded, and he went inside with her. Luna lingered for a moment longer, the wind rippling her star-cloud mane, before going inside too.

"So tell me what you know about fighting these monsters – do you even have a name for them?" Pit said, sitting down on his hindquarters next to Rainbow Dash.

"We ain't got a name fer them yet, but we know that if ya try t' buck 'em, ya get yer hooves stuck," Applejack said, breaking a loaf of bread into pieces and passing them round.

"They're weak to Ice, though from your bow I think you already knew that," said Twilight, levitating her piece of bread into the air. "What _do _you know, Captain?"

"About as much as I've told you and you've told me. We've not got anything like this back in Skyworld. Demons, gorgons, Monoeyes, harpies, we've got all of those but nothing squishy."

"Well, I can tell you that there are some places in Equestria the monsters _haven't _reached yet – Trottingham, which is an island so they're probably not gonna get there at all, and also Manehattan and Vanhoover."

"I need a map," Pit said, the tactician within starting to wake up. "Get me a map of Equestria. We need to plot the movement of the monsters, try to figure out where they first came from and how quickly they're coming."

"An excellent idea, Captain," Luna declared, perking up a little. "I will fetch the grand map of Equestria. Tell him about the events leading up to this."

"Yes, Princess," Twilight nodded. Once the alicorn had gone, there was a short silence, before Rainbow Dash said:

"The first _I _heard about it was from a guy I work with at the cloud factory…"

"The _what_?"

"Ohh, this is going to take a while," Twilight sighed.

* * *

When Luna got back, the map rolled up and levitating a short distance in front of her, the basics of weather control had been explained and where each of the ponies first heard about the ooze also mentioned.

"What I don't get," Pit was saying. "Is if you have _two _Goddesses in charge, how come _neither _of them noticed? Hey, actually, where _is _the other Princess? Celestia, isn't it?"

"Celestia is no longer with us," Luna said, though her throat tightened towards the end of the sentence. Pit's expression went into a deep frown, but softened.

"What…happened to her?"

"She went down fightin' fer her ponies," said Applejack. "She ain't dead but she's one of 'em."

"Oh…you mean she got infected?"

"Yup."

"She was carried away by the monsters that infected her and…that was the last I saw of her," Luna said, her voice dwindling. The map in her magical grip dropped to the floor in front of the small ring of ponies. "Here's the map," she said quietly, before walking over to the balcony door and stepping outside. The girls exchanged worried looks.

"Should one of us go and talk to her?" Twilight suggested.

"I think she'd rather be left alone," Pit said.

"What makes you think that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"My parents died in battle, and I got so sick of everyone asking me if I was alright and did I want a hug and why was I getting so upset with everyone? I just wanted to be on my own."

"Oh…I'm sorry," she said meekly. He shook his head.

"Nah, you've not done anything wrong. Now let me see this map."

Twilight Sparkle unrolled it and laid it out on the floor in front of them. Pit got to his hooves. It was a _big _map, at least a couple of yards across.

"So we're here," he tapped the cliffside castle that represented Canterlot (with the name written above it, which made it more than just a little obvious). "And we know there are monsters here. Where else do we know there are monsters – augh, you know what, we need to come up with a name for them; 'monster' just doesn't cut it for me."

"Slimes?" Rainbow Dash suggested.

"Sludge?" Applejack proposed.

"Just ooze?" Twilight pulled a face.

"Ooze works for me. Right, so there are oozes in Canterlot but none in Trottingham, Manehatten or Vanhoover. Where _else _do we _know _there to be oozes?"

"Ponyville," said Twilight.

"OK, Ponyville…anyone got any counters or something? I'm used to using models to plan these things out."

"Like those things you push around with a stick that you get in movies?" said Rainbow Dash. Pit pulled a face but nodded.

"Yeah, exactly like that. I need something to represent the ooze, something like a-" and he was cut off by a blood-curdling wail.

* * *

**Normally I don't do cliffhangers, and yet here we are. I literally did an evil chuckle when I made the chapter break. All that aside, I guess I forgot to mention the small possibility of character death? Or close enough to death, anyway. Not everyone is gonna make it out the way they went in. Nothing too violent, though, I'm not that kind of author .-. ANYWAY, next chapter we will be: finding out who did the screaming, and a few more foreign heroes arrive!**


	3. BE GONE, BEASTS!

**Bit of a gap there, no worries! Hate to have left you on a cliffie there. And as promised, here come the first of hopefully many Smash Brothers heroes! As always, if you've got a suggestion, hammer it into a review down there and I'll take it into consideration. And without further ado, onto the story!**

* * *

All five of them had been under the impression that it was just them, and so to hear another pony scream was something terrifying indeed. How had they gotten here? Why had they come here? And, more importantly, _were they OK? _They split into two groups to cover the upper and lower sections of the castle, Luna and Pit going one way and the Harmony girls going the other.

"Why would someone come to Canterlot when it's overrun with ooze?" Pit said, mostly to himself, as he flew alongside the galloping Luna.

"If they're in the castle, it's to _escape _the ooze, most likely, since we have cleared the place almost entirely of ooze. Thankfully, if we _do _find any, it is easy to outrun and it cannot fly, unlike us," Luna twitched one of her huge wings mid-flight.

"What should we do if we find some then? Run away?"

"Do you have any better ideas?" she asked somewhat icily.

"I got my bow…though I think I might need a little bit of practise with hooves," he admitted sheepishly. Luna rolled her eyes, before stopping suddenly in the middle of a corridor.

"Silence," she commanded. Pit landed next to her, feeling dwarfed by her height, and did just that. He listened, straining his ears (and was delighted to find he could flick and swivel them too). Hoofsteps. Luna's ears went back aggressively, but she walked on. The foreign hoofsteps got louder, until they rounded a corner and –

"AAAAH! BE GONE, BEASTS!"

"_Marth_?" Pit's jaw fell. There was no doubt about it. The pony before them was him alright. Turquoise coat with a pristine navy mane and tail, gold headbrace set on the former. Falcion was in its scabbard around the unicorn's stomach, and Pit was surprised that Marth wasn't wielding it.

"Pit?" Marth looked equally as surprised. "What are _you _doing _here_, of all places? And why are you a creature too?"

"_Creature_?" said Luna, outraged. Marth's pupils shrunk and he took a step back.

"Erm…"

"Princess, this is an old friend of mine. His name is Marth, Prince of Altea. Marth, this is Princess Luna, she's in charge here," Pit explained. Marth stopped quivering and straightened up.

"Oh, forgive me, Princess, I was not aware!"

"You are forgiven, Prince Marth. Have you come from Altea to help us?"

"My father received your plea and sent me, yes. I was not aware it would have such…side-effects," Marth held up a hoof to demonstrate.

"Nor was I. I think I'll get used to it, though. Look! I can actually properly _fly _now!" Pit beat his wings and took off, doing a happy loop around Luna's head before landing again.

"Was it you that emitted the scream?" Luna asked Marth. His face coloured, going an odd shade.

"I may have been startled by my appearance in the mirror."

"So long as you are not injured it has no meaning. Come. We must locate the others and return to the Astronomy Room."

"Who else is here? I'm afraid I know shamefully little about Equestria and its citizens."

"The Bearers of the Elements of Magic, Loyalty and Honesty are all here. The other three Bearers are in Ponyville helping to develop a cure."

"A cure for what?" Marth asked. Luna sighed, probably because she had realised that everything would need to be explained again.

"A cure for -" she stopped as a _whooom _blast from further away, startling both Pit and Marth. "That was the portal. Someone else has arrived."

"Someone else?" said Pit hopefully. "Someone good, let's hope!"

"Yes, let's hope," Luna said, taking off at a gallop again, leaving Marth to try and keep up on the ground with his much shorter legs and Pit to keep up in the air with his much weaker wings.

The three of them charged to the portal room, where they saw not only the three girls but also…

"_Link?_" Marth gawped.

"Link!" Pit grinned. The brownish pony looked up from the crash position he'd seemingly landed in (so I'm not the only one, Pit thought, slightly relieved). He got to his hooves unsteadily. He was an inch or so taller than the other ponies and built slightly leaner, but apart from that he was just a normal pony. No wings, no horn.

"Ah, another hero," Luna said, pleased. "Which kingdom are you from, hero?"

"He's from Hyrule," said Pit. Luna gave him a slightly tetchy look.

"I was asking this pony."

"He doesn't speak."

"He doesn't?" This surprised her. She looked back to Link. "Is this true?" He nodded. "I hope that won't cause any problems…but now we have re-met we must return to the tower for safety and so we can re-introduce ourselves."

"And explain what the hay is goin' on round here to these guys," said Applejack. Luna nodded, and so they made their way back to the tower again.

When they got back they reassumed their seats on the floor, though Marth didn't look too happy about this arrangement.

"You OK, Marth?" Pit asked. Marth looked like he was thinking about whether to tell the truth or not, but after a moment he said:

"Not really, no. How am I supposed to fight if I cannot use Falcion? I can't wield a sword when I have _hooves_."

"You can just levitate it," Twilight said, as though this were obvious. "Like this, see?" Marth flinched as she floated his sword out of its scabbard and into the air in front of him. "You're a unicorn like me, which means you can do this sort of thing pretty easily."

"Prince?" Luna spoke up, a frown on her face.

"Princess?" he replied.

"You are royalty, are you not?"

"Absolutely. Blue blood through and through."

"Then surely you would be an alicorn. All royalty in Equestria are alicorns."

"Um."

"Perhaps you are not powerful enough in your home land to be considered worthy of the alicorn status."

"E-excuse me?!"

"Oh, forgive me. I didn't mean it like that. Perhaps it is only _true rulers_ from other lands that receive the alicorn status…"

"Either way, it doesn't matter. You're a unicorn, so you can just use your horn to float things around," Twilight carefully put the sword back in its sheath. "And…Link, was it? You're a normal earth pony, like Applejack. Earth ponies are generally a lot more durable than other ponies."

"You bet we are," Applejack said smugly. Twilight gave her a 'not amused' look before continuing.

"Now, Link, you're at an advantage because you're an earth pony: earth ponies can't get infected by the ooze nearly as easily as any of the others can…erm, Link?"

The pony had just yanked the Master Sword from its scabbard with his teeth, trying to hold it in his hooves. He looked worried, and Pit had very rarely seen Link look worried. He couldn't use his sword.

"Is there any way an earth pony could wield a sword?" Marth asked on behalf of his friend. "Link's primary weapon of choice is his sword."

"Oh dear. Does he have no other weapons?" Luna asked, looking mildly worried. Marth rolled his eyes.

"Dozens, Princess. Surely you can use your other weapons, Link? In fact, why don't you show them to others so they know what you can do?"

"I want to know what you packed too, Link. It could be useful for my battle plan," Pit indicated to the map. "Does anyone have anything I could use to represent the ooze? I can't hold all of that stuff in my head."

"This will be sufficient, I hope," Luna pointed her horn at the map and a dozen shimmery, tiny purple oozes appeared on it. Pit was entranced almost instantly, pushing one to and fro.

"Wow. That's a neat trick, Princess. These will do fine. Geez Link, did you _really _need all that?" Pit, like all the other ponies in the room, stared at the arsenal of weapons and items that had tumbled from Link's hammerspace bag as he turned it upside down. Three different kinds of bombs, Gale Boomerang, bow (now useless to him), ocarina, fishing rod, a medley of bottles containing various liquids, the Hawkeye and a golden Triforce pendant to match the one on Link's flank. So his 'special talent' was being the bearer of the Triforce of Courage. Made sense.

While the other ponies gasped at the weapons and asked questions that Pit already knew the answer to, he looked at the other cutie marks around the room. His was a bow and arrow in front of a centurion helmet while Marth's was a crown around a sword.

In a way, both of their cutie marks showed their job (military and royalty) and their greatest talent (archery and swordplay), and so Pit was pleased with his. Twilight Sparkle had a diamond-esque shape for her cutie mark, surrounded by several other stars. Applejack had a simple 3 apples. Rainbow Dash had a cloud that was shooting rainbow lightning (and it did look pretty cool considering it had a rainbow in it) while Luna's was different, covering almost her whole flank – an inky dark splat with a silver moon embedded in it. Pit knew he'd probably find out what their special talents were sooner or later, but now didn't seem like the right time to ask.

The girls (plus Marth) had finished gawping at Link's huge array of weapons, so Pit interrupted with:

"I reckon you can still use your bombs, the boomerang and the Hawkeye," he said to Link, who nodded. "And all those potions. Right. Let's see. Canterlot and Ponyville: oozes," Pit pushed two of the translucent oozes over to each of these locations. "Trottingham's safe…"

"Allow me," Luna aimed her horn again, and one tiny flag made of the same purple magiterial appeared on the small island.

"Uh, thanks. Where else?"

"Fillydelphia is almost gone completely," Rainbow Dash said. An ooze went there.

"They're on the Unicorn Ranges but they've not reached Vanhoover yet," Applejack told him. "And Manehatten is OK too."

"OK, Manehatten and Vanhoover…" Pit said, looking at Luna. She correctly interpreted the look to mean 'more flags please', and so she conjured two more up.

They sat and did this for quite a while, using what they knew to be true – and _only _to be true, no rumours at this conference – to map the spread of the ooze.

"Would the gryphons help us?" Pit asked, noticing the arrow on the map. Luna looked unsure.

"I did send them a message along with all of the other kingdoms within a hundred dreights, but Equestria and Gargoran have never been on the best of terms. They may not respond to our plea."

"And no dragons?"

"Dragons are our enemies most of the time," said Twilight. "Oh! That reminds me! I still haven't sent that letter to Spike! Augh, now you two have arrived, I have to rewrite the whole thing."

"Make sure to ask them how it's going," Rainbow said. Twilight nodded, standing up.

"If you'll excuse me," she said, before levitating a quill and a piece of parchment that had been lying on the floor beforehand. She stepped out onto the balcony to get the privacy that she wanted to write the letter while the others began to discuss possible plans of action.

* * *

"So, _that's _why sapphires taste _so _much better when they – HURK!" Spike's explanation was cut short by a jet of dragonfire. He caught the scroll that came with it as it dropped. His current companion wasn't impressed.

"Oh, Spike, you've already shown me that one! And it smells bad, pee-yew!" Pinkie Pie pulled a face. Spike rolled his eyes, only opening up the letter. He skimmed over it with draconic green eyes, before turning around and marching into the Ponyville hospital that had become the base of operations. It was currently quieter than usual, and even as he walked through it Spike gave an involuntary shudder.

"Mayor Mare? I've got a letter from Twilight Sparkle," he said to the mayor-come-survivalist leader. She looked down at him.

"Well? What does it say?"

"Three foreign heroes have arrived: a pegasus, a unicorn and a pony."

"Excellent. What does she have to say on them?"

"The pegasus is called Pit, though she said that his full title is…" he looked back down at the scroll to read from it. "'Captain Pit Icari of Palutena's Guard'. He's a tactician and an archer. And then there's Prince Marth, the unicorn, who's good at sword-fighting and…uh…oh, and Link, the bearer of something called the 'Triforce of Courage'? I think that's what it says."

"Glad to hear that things are looking up for them," said the Mayor. "I wish I didn't have to send them what I must."

"Yeah…trust me, I don't want to have to tell them either. Nothing but bad news," his posture drooped as he thought about the contents of the scroll the Mayor would inevitably send back.

"Well, thank you, Spike. Would you mind if I read that?"

"Go ahead. I'll be in the courtyard if you want me to send anything back."

* * *

**What's in the letter that Luna is to receive? Find out next chapter! Before you go though, sorry to anyone who has played Fire Emblem for my inevitably OOC Marth (eh, Awkward Zombie can get away with it, don't see why I can't). I'm not even sure I spelt 'Falcion' right, I've not played the game in a while. I HAVE, however, played Twilight Princess…though I may have remembered things wrong. Please, any errors, correct the hell out of me (I feel like such a noob).**


	4. Kindness No More

**Chapter 4, alright! I have no idea what weird title I'm going to give it when I upload it, but it'll inevitably be something weird (oh, you think that I actually **_**plan **_**these things?). Before you go ahead and read, however, I would like to direct your attention to my deviantart profile! I recently added some pieces of art relating to this story, namely Pit and Marth's cutie marks and the map of Equestria with all the oozes and flags on it. Insert full stops where necessary! eggplantwitch deviantart com. Anyway, we get to find out what was in that letter now. Quick warning, you're probably going to dislike it just as much as I do D:**

* * *

"Aha, excellent!" Luna exclaimed as a scroll appeared with a puff in front of her and dropped to the floor. "That was a quick response."

"Read it to us, Princess!" said Rainbow Dash. Luna nodded, using her magic to undo the seal. She began to read.

"_Dear Princess Luna,_" it started. "_It gave us all hope to hear that the first of hopefully many foreign heroes had arrived. I would like it very much if you would give them a hearty welcome from all of us in Ponyville_," Luna paused, looking at the three of them. "Welcome!" she said, smiling, before carrying on. "_We're making progress with the cure – we can now halt the infection temporarily, though we are still a way from being able to fully cure it._"

"That's still a major breakthrough," Twilight said eagerly. The others nodded in agreement, and again Luna continued.

"_However, I regret to inform you that_…" Luna's face fell. She reread the sentence, wide-eyed.

"Princess?" Marth hazarded. Luna gulped, and finally continued.

"_I regret to inform you that…**Fluttershy has gone missing**._"

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash gasped, as did Applejack and Twilight Sparkle.

"No, not Fluttershy!" said Twilight, looking as though she'd been hit with an arrow rather than bad news. Only Applejack didn't say anything, allowing Luna to continue, her voice slightly shaky.

"_She has been gone for two days now, and all of those brave enough to face the monsters are currently out looking for her, even in the Everfree Forest. I remain optimistic for the sake of the ponies, but I fear the worst._

_Not only this, but a huge ship of darkness has appeared over Unicorn Range. We don't know what it is, but it's slowly heading towards us. I'm sorry to bring you so much bad news, but it must be said. We will anticipate your return to Ponyville._

_Yours sincerely, Mayor Mare._"

"I can't believe it…Fluttershy…" Twilight said, her eyes glazed over. "Do you think that she's just hiding away somewhere?"

"It's possible, isn't it? Maybe she went to Cloudsdale to get away from it all…" Rainbow Dash said, though she didn't sound convinced. "She hates heights…"

"My little ponies," Luna said, her voice gaining a louder, more regal tone. "We must remain strong in the face of danger. Those back at Ponyville may need our help -"

"We can't go back to Ponyville, not yet," said Pit. They all looked at him. "I mean, we have this castle almost completely free of ooze, we may as well use it. Also, the ooze was first seen here, yeah? And you can clearly see that it's been spreading out from here. We could try finding out where it first came from. Maybe we could even try clearing out the whole city so people can come back here. You said you were having major problems with refugees."

"Yes, we were, but we cannot do all of that on our own."

"Then get more ponies here. Fighters. Healers. Tacticians, like me. Set up a refugee camp here, only with a twist: every refugee must play their part in clearing out the whole city."

"It's a very ambitious goal, Captain," said Twilight.

"It's a goal with boundaries. The kind where you can really _see _your progress."

"I think he's right," said Rainbow. "We should get ponies in from all over Equestria. I'll even fly to Cloudsdale to bring some pegasi if you want me to."

"A generous offer, valiant Rainbow Dash, but I am not sure if -" Luna said, her voice slightly meeker.

"I trust Pit. I think it could be achieved," Marth said, standing up. Link got up too, nodding.

"I'll agree to it if you will, Princess," Twilight said, looking up to the alicorn. Luna didn't look convinced for a moment, before seeing all the ponies before her giving her the same look.

"I…dear Applejack, what do _you _think?"

"I think," she said, slowly. "That I'm not gonna get a lick of rest 'til every last ooze is out of Equestria. They took Fluttershy, they declared war. I don't care what it takes or how long, just so long as they get the hay out of here."

"Well, Captain, it seems everypony here has been swayed by your argument. I have no choice but to agree on behalf of all my ponies. What would you ask we do first?"

"Erm," Pit froze slightly, taking into account the words Luna had just said. The _ruler _of the _kingdom_…had just put _him _in charge. A little shiver ran down him, disappearing out through his wings. He knew that lives had been lost and many more probably _would _be lost on the way to victory…but hey, there was going to be _fighting_! And _battles_! And _victory_! And no matter how much he could deny it, his body welcomed every drop of adrenalin that was made. "We need fighters, since I can only call on a tiny part of my army for a maximum of ten seconds. Have all of the Equestrian army been wiped out?"

"The Royal Guard stayed to fight for Canterlot, but the last order my sister ever made was that they save themselves and their families. They are scattered," Luna explained. Pit took this into consideration.

"Then we need to get a message sent out to all the major refugee camps: the Equestrian Army is now recruiting, housing and training provided for free. Someone write this stuff down."

"That would be my job," Twilight said, readily bringing a new sheet of parchment from the pile and floating her quill over, starting to write down what Pit was saying.

"We're also going to need food, so we want farmers, grocers and cooks."

"…and cooks…" Twilight echoed, dotting a full-stop and waiting for the next order.

"Medics will definitely be required, and it would be good to see if we can bring the cure research over here and try and give it a bit of a bump. Bring ponies from other places in Equestria here so they can help too. After all, the more ponies working on developing it, the faster we'll find it."

"An excellent idea, Captain."

"Uh, thanks. So we've got fighters, food and healthcare, what else do we need…oh, we might need people who could actively search for food. Brave enough to take the risk. Can either run or fight. And lastly: unicorns like you, Twilight, who can create magic weapons and defences. Any pony with a talent corresponding to ice would be welcomed with open arms…er, open hooves. Whatever you say."

"Fighters, cooks, medics, gatherers and enchanters. Is that all, Captain?" Twilight checked off her list. Pit thought for a moment, before nodding.

"That's it for the time being. Now we need to get these messages spread somehow."

"Make a poster or something and make copies," said Rainbow Dash. "Make _lots _of copies. I'll take a load to Cloudsdale, get my friends to take them all over Equestria and I'll pin up a bunch."

"Brilliant," Pit declared. "How long would it take to make that many copies though?"

"A few seconds with a duplication spell," said Luna.

"Oh, right…er, yeah, do that. So for now…Applejack and Twilight Sparkle, work on the posters. Marth, Link and Princess, you do a sweep of the lower floors and get rid of any oozes you find. Rainbow Dash and I will go smoosh the oozes from the top floors out. Don't forget, they're vulnerable to ice!"

"Sorry, Pit, but can I stay here for the time being and try to learn how to use this…unicorn magic I have now?" said Marth.

"Er, OK, Marth. You stay here and learn that. Princess, Link, Rainbow Dash, you don't mind, do you?"

"Nah, I can't wait to whoop some slime butt!" Rainbow Dash whooped. Link made no answer, which Pit took to mean he didn't mind, and Luna said:

"Very well, Captain."

"Thanks, guys. Never split up from each other, OK? That's all, see you back here in an hour max."

* * *

"So, 'Captain'," Rainbow Dash said, in a slightly mocking tone as she and Pit fluttered through the corridors of the castle. "You said that before you were a pony you couldn't fly."

"Not for very long. Even when Paluntena gave me all the power she could, five minutes max," he replied.

"Five minutes? Man, that's _got _to have sucked."

"Yeah, it did. My wings are…well, _were _too small to keep me in the air. To me, it still looks like that, but apparently these little wings work for pegasus ponies."

"Yeah, we have light bones. Break easily, heal easier. Take it from me. I've broken a lot."

"Doing what?"

"Crashing. Don't get me wrong, I hardly ever crash! Just when I was younger I was a little…clumsier. I'm definitely one of the best fliers in Equestria now. I've only broken one bone in the past five _years_."

"Which bone?"

"Wing," Rainbow twitched a wing to emphasize. "I got over it."

"I guessed."

They fell into a silence for a moment, before the cyan pegasus spoke up again.

"So what's it like where you're from? I thought I heard you saying there aren't any ponies."

"Nope, no ponies, and no unicorns either. We have pegasi, but they're a lot different from you and me. They're bigger, for one thing, more like the Princess, and they're not very smart. We ride them."

"You _ride _them?"

"Hey, I said they aren't smart! They're just dumb animals in Skyworld. We have a whole cavalry now, thanks to me. My pegasus was called Naro. I was getting to be really good at riding, too. And now I'm stuck here."

"But you wanted to help us, didn't you?" Rainbow looked hurt. "I thought you came here because _you _wanted to help!"

"I _did_! My lady gave me a choice and I chose to come. Even though I'm dreights and dreights away from home and I can't go back unless one of the alicorns opens a portal for me."

"…woah. That's rough. Sorry."

"It's OK. All the oozes will be gone from Equestria in a month max. I can cope that long. I've coped with being gone from Angel Land for almost half a year before."

"Where did you go?"

"The Ground World. I don't really know if it has a name apart from that. The ancient texts in Skyworld call it 'Triolof' but that's not what the guys that live on it call it. I was staying in this big mansion with loads of other people – that's how I met Marth and Link – fighting in a tournament that got put on TV."

"On TV? That is _so cool_!" she said, genuinely looking amazed. She tipped a wing and rapidly dodged around a pillar before she rejoined Pit at his side.

"It was fun. I made a lot of friends. I don't really know if Marth and Link are any of those friends, but they're nice enough. Marth thinks he's smart and Link is only smart when it comes to puzzles, but they're OK."

"Why doesn't Link talk?"

"I dunno. Zelda said that he _can _talk he just doesn't _want _to. Psychological trauma or something. I really don't know, he's kind of a mystery to _everyone_."

"That's not hard to imagine. He's kinda weird to me."

"And I'm not?"

"It's weird that you're still a foal and yet you're so strong and smart, but you're not _creepy_-weird like that Link guy is."

"I'm not strong _or _smart," Pit said, his face going to something harsher. "I'm small for my age and not that good at melee. I'm not stupid but I'm not smart either. I'm just good at tactics."

"I meant strong as in…pony-strong. You know. You can get people to listen to you. You made _me _believe that we can beat out the ooze, so I don't see why you can't make _everyone else _believe that too."

"Heh, thanks," he gave her a small but honest smile, which she returned in grin format. She suddenly came to a halt mid-air, however, and said:

"Uh oh, ooze! And it's a big one!"

This was Pit's first proper glimpse of an ooze. It was indeed a big one, taller than Rainbow Dash and twice as wide. It seemed to be made of a dark purple bubbling substance, and two yellow eyes glowed underneath the sludge. It made no sound as it noticed them, but a large portion of it spread out in front of it and it slid along towards them. Pit fumbled for his bow, surprising himself with how easily he could hold it. An ice arrow appeared in it as he drew back the string, and released. The arrow made a _thwuck _noise as it hit the sludge. A tiny part of the ooze that surrounded the arrow went icy white.

"More, more! Keep going, I'll distract it!" Rainbow Dash egged him on, zipping over the ooze. Pit pulled back again, an arrow appearing as he did so, before he released. Again, _thwuck_ and another patch of ice joined the pre-existing one. More arrows came, each creating that little patch of ice.

"It doesn't seem to be doing much," said Pit."

"It can't move all that fast, that's all, you should see what they can do when there's _tonnes _of -"

"I meant my arrows."

"Wait, watch this!" Rainbow Dash fluttered up to the ceiling, before swooping down, dive-bombing the ooze. She struck the most frozen patch with her hoof, and a chunk broke away. The ooze made a noise that can only be described as _brlorp_. It evidently didn't like having bits of it chipped off, and as revenge split itself in two. Pit hadn't ever seen that happen before, and so he was startled when each of the two new, smaller globs grew glowing yellow eyes and a mouth. He rapidly released a volley of arrows into the one he deemed the larger one.

"When you're ready, Rainbow Dash!" he called, shooting another arrow. With a swoosh, the cyan pegasus swept in and bashed a hearty chunk out. Pit loaded up more arrows, and in only a couple of minutes it had been reduced to icy shards on the floor.

Now they had their tactic, the second one was easy to take down, being the smaller of the two anyway.

"I need to see if I can get some more powerful arrows for this thing," Pit commented, settling on the floor among the shards, kicking them away with his hoof.

"Aw, I dunno, I think we did pretty well! _Way _easier than it was before, without them," Rainbow Dash nodded, brushing the ice shards out of the window with her tail.

"How did you take them out when you didn't have ice?"

"Mostly we had to drop something big and heavy on them. It was _really _hard, even for me."

"That does sound harder. Come on, we've found one up here so it's likely that there's a way up for them."

"Yeah: let's find it and take 'em out!" she grinned and zipped off, leaving Pit to shout -

"Hey!" - and do his best to catch up to her.

* * *

**So we have ANOTHER character out of the picture. Trust me, I didn't want to do it either, Fluttershy is my 2nd favourite, due to being able to relate to her really well. But hey, perhaps there's hope for her yet. I really have no idea. I make these things up as I go along (for example, when I first started writing Celestia was going to be the one to greet Pit, not Luna). And, last but not least, it would mean **_**so much **_**to me if you'd take the time to write me a few words (or paragraphs, either or) telling me what you liked, what you think I could improve, who you'd like to see appear next. Honestly. And that's it for now, expect another chapter (and more bonus art) soon!**


	5. Pressure

**We're back again! Woo! And thanks for the favourites and follows and reviews and things, so far it's motivating me to keep going! Anyway, this chapter is a pretty short one, so to make up for that the next update will be a lot sooner. But before you rush off into it, I have a problem, and I'd like your advice. I want to give Link a friend/sidekick from Hyrule, and currently the choices are Zelda or Navi (as a fairy sent by the Great Fairy to help him, as opposed to the OoT story and stuff). I really enjoy writing both of these characters, though my Navi is deliberately OOC since I've never played OoT (I know I know get over it). My version is just as annoying, only she's well aware of it and likes to wind people up by being a smart alec with a bad attitude (and believe me, she is SO FUN to write). Also, because I know _someone _will ask otherwise - don't ask about Midna. Hush hush stuff going on there. SO you either get the more subdued but infinitely more in-character Zelda, or the loud-mouthed OOC Navi. So think about it and tell me at the end!**

* * *

"…and then, if your attacker comes at you like _so_, you must counter with THIS!"

"What're you doing?" Pit gave Marth a funny look as he entered the room. The prince smiled a slightly sheepish smile back.

"Teaching Miss Sparkle in the art of sword fighting, of course," he said, the blue aura around Falchion disappearing, letting the weapon drop to the floor with a clatter.

"It's very educational," said Twilight, her own sword of magiterial disappearing. "Not that any of the oozes will be carrying swords, but still!"

"I thought you were meant to be making posters," said Pit.

"Oh, Applejack was almost finished anyway."

"And now I'm done!" said the pony, tapping her hoof at the piece of parchment on the floor, surrounded by paintbrushes and quills.

"Wow, that looks great. You got the flag and everything!" Rainbow Dash said, clearly impressed. Pit took a look at it, and was pleased with what he saw.

"Good job," he said, nodding. "Now we need to duplicate about two hundred copies and fly them off."

"That's the easy part." Twilight trotted over and aimed her horn at the paper. Dozens of sheets started to fly from it, one after the other at a furious pace. It was barely a minute until five stacks of posters had settled just behind the unicorn.

"I see you have made the posters. Excellent," Luna's voice echoed around the room, and the alicorn herself was standing in the doorway, accompanied by Link. "The lower areas of the castle are clear. We fixed as many of the walls as possible, but we're still far from being ooze-free. We have to fix the castle if it is to become a base of operations."

"Well, you know how this place is meant to look more than anyone else, so you're in charge of that. Take whoever you want tomorrow to fix it."

"Oh, I…yes, Captain. I will gladly help to restore my castle to its former splendour."

"I think it's about time we eat," said Applejack. "Posters and castle can wait 'til tomorrow, don't y'all think?"

"I know I think that," said Pit, trotting over to his saddlebags. "You guys can have some of my food; I was planning on sharing anyway."

"That's mighty kind of you, Captain. I'll see what I can do," she said, taking the small bag Pit produced from him. She disappeared off to make dinner for the seven of them.

Pit returned to his seat in front of the map. He looked across it. The figures that Luna had conjured up had disappeared, but she noticed him looking at it and put them back with a flick of her horn. He looked thoughtfully at the ooze sitting on Canterlot. He wanted that to be gone in the next two weeks tops. He also thought about Trottingham – the one place the oozes weren't ever going to reach unless they managed to get onto a boat, somehow. Manehatten and Vanhoover were clear, but the former was at risk of being invaded. Manehatten _had _to stay clear. A lot of ponies lived there, not to mention all the ones that had fled there from their homes. If there was one thing he was certain of, it was that all the areas that were clear of ooze would have to _stay_ that way. It would make his job a lot easier.

"Pit?" The pegasus looked up as Marth came over.

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to say that…I suppose that, back in that whole 'Smash' business, I never really took you seriously. You looked too young to be of any real merit," he said, looking sheepish again. "And I have been completely proven wrong. I did not realise the extent of your military knowledge. And I wanted to say that you don't have to rest this all on your shoulders. I don't doubt that you are capable of it, but…still, you are more than welcome to bestow any tasks to me. If you find that it's getting too much. I am a military leader too, you know."

"I know. Maybe later. Right now I need everything in _my _head and not other people's. I can't control stuff when it's in other people's heads."

"Well, you could with a mind control spell, but that's besides the point," said Twilight, looking up from the book she had levitated from her bag. "And Marth is right, Captain, you shouldn't feel like it all rests on you."

"It _should _rest on _me_," said Luna bitterly. "_I _should not _have _to hand control to somepony else. I am _meant _to be doing all of this myself. I am just too weak to be able to do so…"

"Oh Princess, you aren't weak. Equestria has never had to deal with something like this before; I think it was very commendable that you weren't too proud to not be able to ask for help."

"Thank you Twilight Sparkle, but I am afraid of what is to happen, and Princesses are not meant to be 'afraid'." The sad expression she'd be wearing before snapped to an angry one in a split second. She got very rapidly to her hooves, her voice rising. "In my day the Princesses were all-powerful! They never needed to ask for help, they could take every problem in their stride. AND THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN REDUCED TO!" The ears of every pony in the room flattened back as her volume went up further. "_COMMON PONIES AND FOREIGNERS!_" Her eyes flashed, and with a poof of angry purple clouds she vanished.

Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence that ensued, looking even more windswept than usual.

"Did she just call us _'common ponies'_? I thought she was our _fr_-" she started angrily.

"Rainbow, she didn't mean it," said Twilight, gently pulling her friend down from the air. "She's probably just stressed."

"I know I'd be stressed if I were in her place," said Applejack, reaching for the hat that had been blown off. "She's in charge of the whole kingdom. She's prob'ly just' feelin' a little bit afraid, that's all."

"Still…rude!" said the cyan pegasus, though she'd calmed down as quickly as Luna had gotten angry.

"AEEK!" Twilight jumped a foot in the air a loud crack of thunder rippled across the castle, so close that it made the floor shake.

"Woah!" Pit was startled almost as much. "Where did _that _come from?"

The clouds, which had been a peaceful grey before, were now a threatening shade of black.

"Looks like the Princess is having a bit of a hissy fit," said Rainbow. "I always forget she can control weather. Who does she think she is, a pegasus?"

"Not so much a hissy fit as letting out her feelings," said Marth, who'd walked to the window. "She can control weather? That's very interesting."

"Hers is only fake. It's not _really _there. Only pegasi can _really _control the weather."

"How do you control the weather?"

"Well, we got a weather factory in Cloudsdale that makes all of the weather for the whole of Equestria. Depending on what kinda weather you want depends on what kinda crystal you use to power the machine…_thingy_," she said eloquently.

"Wait wait wait, hold up a second," said Pit, his eyes widening with realisation. "Does that mean you could make it _really really _cold? Cold enough to freeze the oozes?"

"_Yea_, but not _now_. The snowflake crystals we use to make snow are only around at certain times of the year, and right now isn't that kinda time," Rainbow Dash pulled a face.

"Oh. Is there any other way you can make snow?"

"I don't think so," she shook her head, her multicoloured mane flying. Pit's face fell, that particular idea shrivelling up. It might have died out completely had Rainbow Dash not started so violently she fell over onto her back. "WAIT!"

"What? What?" he zipped up to her, giving her an eager look as she rolled to her hooves.

"Before the weather machines were invented, pegasi had to make weather the hard way! It was really, _really _hard, only pegasi that had been trained for _years _could do it, and even then, only the best made the cut. I don't think anyone even knows _how _to do it the old way anymore."

"Then maybe we should make that a goal," said Twilight. "If anyone could do something like that, it would be you, Rainbow. I'll research it!"

"Twilight, you and your researchin'," Applejack commented. Pit took this to mean that the unicorn liked to look stuff up a lot. That could be useful.

"Alright, Twilight, that's a great idea. Do you want to do that tomorrow?" he asked her. Now it was _her _face that lit up.

"I would _love _to! But I'll need somepony to come with me to the castle library; I'm not going on my own."

"If you don't mind, Miss Sparkle, I will volunteer for that. I have a fair amount to learn about Equestria, it seems," said Marth. Twilight smiled at him.

"Of course. That's OK, right, Captain?"

"Er, sure! So, recap, plans for tomorrow: Princess Luna will begin reparations on the castle (er, if she's up to it), Rainbow Dash will fly the posters to Cloudsdale, Twilight and Marth will begin research on making snow. Applejack, what do you want to do?"

"I _want_ to go to Ponyville an' see mah family. But 'cuz that ain't gonna happen, I guess I'll stay here and help the Princess," the earth pony replied. Pit nodded.

"OK. I promise that when we get enough people – er, ponies - here, you guys can go to Ponyville and visit your friends there, try to help in the search for this missing friend of yours."

"Thanks, Cap," said Rainbow, looking grateful. Pit shrugged, his wings following in the same motion.

"I know I'd want to do that if I were where you were. And Link…er…" he frowned at the pony who was sprawled across the floor, sleepily lifting his head when he heard his name. "Link, you can stay with me. We're going to explore a bit." Link's ears perked up at the mention of 'explore', and he nodded eagerly. "Great. Then it's all settled."

"An' tea's ready too. Apple stew," said Applejack, tapping the side of the cauldron over the fire to emphasize. "Bowls are in mah bag."

And to a volley of thanks and praise, the ponies began their dinner.

* * *

**I need to write more LARGEHAM!Luna, 'cause Large Hams are just OUTRAGEOUS. Anyway, before you write me a wonderful review telling me who Link's sidekick/friend should be and suggesting any Brawlers or background ponies to add, you should head over to my deviantart profile (eggplantwitch dot deviantart dot com), 'cause I've been adding a bunch of supplementary art recently, and hopefully by the time this chapter goes up Applejack's poster will also be among my gallery. So stroll down there to entertain yourself while Chapter 6 gets sorted out!**


	6. Viva La Reina

**Did I mention that there's going to be songs? Because there's going to be songs. The idea for this actually struck me when I was writing the author's note for Chapter 1 and suddenly Viva La Vida by Coldplay came up on shuffle. It was a message from the Gods, and so there are now going to be at least 3 or 4 musical parody-esque songs scattered throughout (possibly more, IMPROVISATION). So open Viva La Vida up in another tab or something (or take this www dot youtube dot com/watch?v=dvgZkm1xWPE) and play it when appropriate. You'll know.**

* * *

Luna was absent for the whole of the meal, though Twilight said because the sun was setting she'd obviously calmed down enough to fulfil that particular duty of setting the sun and raising the moon. While they ate, it was Rainbow Dash that said:

"So what's it like in Angel Land?" to Pit. Pit slurped thoughtfully on his stew, before saying:

"From what I can tell from the map, it's kind of a bit like Cloudsdale, only not _everything _is made of cloud. We have big temples and buildings and parks and my home, Palutena's Palace."

"You _live _in a _palace_?" This information was evidently news to Marth.

"Yeah. I live there, work there _and _train there."

"I am impressed."

"That _is _pretty neat. Is it anything like this place?" Rainbow cast her hoof across the room, indicating to the whole of the castle.

"Um, yeah, a little bit. I've not seen much of this place though, so I don't really know."

"You're going to explore tomorrow, so that will change," said Twilight. "Don't go outside the castle, by the way, it's still too dangerous, even with two ponies."

"Even with Mute-Macho-Face here," Rainbow flicked Link with her tail, and he woke up from his doze, startled. He gave her an unsavoury look, before flopping back down with his head over his hooves, like a dog. Looking at Link like that led to a new path on Pit's train of thought.

"What would happen if a normal horse was brought here?" he said, thinking of Link's horse Epona. There was a short silence, before he continued, prompting: "Just a normal, dumb animal from our world. Would they be like a pony only still with the brain of an animal? Or would they get really smart?"

"That's an interesting question." Twilight frowned. "Next time you come, bring a pony from your world with you!"

"I told you, no ponies in my world, only in theirs." Pit nodded at Link and Marth.

"Why doncha have ponies in your world?" said Applejack. Pit shrugged.

"I guess when the Gods were making Skyworld, they thought it'd be silly to have normal horses when everyone could fly, so they gave them wings and called them pegasi."

"What about alicorns, do you have…." Twilight trailed off as she saw Marth, who had started motioning towards the door to the balcony. A shadow had passed over the small window that was in it. Luna had come back. No one moved or said anything. None of them knew what to do. Should they wait for her to come in? Or should they go outside to talk to her? It was a few moments until anyone made a decision, and then Pit stood up.

"I'll be back in a sec," he said, and went out to the balcony.

She was sitting on it, looking at the moon as it started its journey across the sky. Her ears twitched as she heard him come out, and she instantly stood up as soon as she saw him, head hung low.

"Captain, I…I am sorry," she said.

"It's alright. I don't mind. I've been called things a lot worse than 'foreigner' when I've been away from home, take it from me," he told her earnestly, casting his mind back to his first day in the Smash Mansion. He did his best not to smile as he remembered Samus beating up Wario after he called Pit something rude, though what it was the Angel could no longer remember.

"You are doing an excellent job so far, it gives me hope but…you outshine me, and I am the one who is meant to be the leader. I am the Princess, I must lead my ponies, it is _wrong _that such a responsibility has to be handed to somepony else…"

"My lady told me that Equestria doesn't really have an army because it's such a peaceful place. That's why you're finding it hard. Even your sister would find this kind of descruction hard to deal with, I know that she wouldn't be used to it either," he said, and then flinched at his own words. As he'd expected after realising it, Luna also flinched. Her gaze went back to the crumbling city of Canterlot, before her turquoise eyes came back to Pit, filled with sadness yet again.

"We used to rule this world, Captain…" she said, softly. "We used…_to rule the world,_

_Day and night when we gave the word.  
Now the days are so harsh and cruel,  
I fear the streets we used to rule._

_I used to move the night,  
Control all of the moon's might,  
She'd be the one who moved the sun,  
And now I miss her so much, what have they done?_

_The duties fall on me,  
To lead our land and ponies free,  
How can I do it on my own?  
To save this fair place, to save our fair home?_

_Why did it turn out this way?  
For me to rule both night and day?  
I can't cope with this kind of stress,  
I'll never be like her I must confess.  
But Captain why can't you see?  
The responsibility lands sole on me,  
I am the Princess here,  
I'm not allowed to show my fear._

_If my sister was still with us,  
She'd tell me not to make a fuss,  
Because she thought I was strong enough,  
But she was so wrong, I'm not so tough._

_I wish I was Nightmare Moon!  
Instead of Princesse de la lune,  
But I know that I must stay  
Oh I wish I could hide here and pray._

_Why did it turn out this way?  
For me to rule both night and day?  
I can't cope with this kind of stress,  
I'll never be like her I must confess,  
And she said with her dying breaths,  
It's up to me to end these deaths,  
I am the Princess here.  
The way to victory will be clear._

_Captain this is my plan of action,  
My weak persona is what I will shun,  
I shall grow strong and proud with power,  
My battle cry heard from every tower.  
It's a risk that I must take,  
To end the misery and heartache,  
My mind it has been made.  
I will no longer be afraid._"

She turned to him with a new look in her eyes, the sad look now replaced with a determined one.

"You are right, Captain. I must continue my sister's legacy! She would not wish to see me moping while our kingdom is at risk! Now come. Let us go inside, away from this chill. Now is the time for rest."

* * *

The floor of the astronomy tower wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, and after much rolling around trying to make himself comfortable Pit had eventually given up and fluttered outside. To his mild surprise, he hadn't been the only one who'd had the idea of sleeping out there. Link was sprawled across the balcony and Luna was curled up on the roof, her mystic mane calm and still. Being careful not to wake either the ones outside or the ones underneath the roof he was about to land on, Pit chose the most comfortable looking spot and settled down. The stars were unfamiliar and distant, but the air was not too cold. It was cool enough to be a relief from the stuffy air inside, however, and the Angel fell asleep much more readily underneath the night sky.

He woke up next morning to Twilight Sparkle saying:

"Captain, wake up! We've got a letter from the Crystal Kingdom!"

"Thwa?" he looked up muzzily, before giving a small yelp as he slid down the roof tiles, rolled off the edge and, by Angelic instinct, landed on his hooves. He shook himself out, trying to wake himself up and shake the dew from his fur. Only then did he look at Twilight and say: "Say that again?"

"We've got a letter from the Crystal Kingdom, it arrived a few minutes ago."

"The Crystal Kingdom being…?

"The nearest kingdom to Equestria, ruled by my brother and sister-in-law. It lies beyond the Crystal Mountains, the ones on the map."

"Yeah, I remember. Wait, ruled by your _brother_?"

"Yep. Its ruler, Queen Cadence, is married to my brother. Which means I'm technically royalty! Not that it feels much like it. Anyway, come inside and see what she has to say."

"Er, OK," he frowned, not too sure if he could take all of this in at this time of morning, but followed her inside all the same.

An unfamiliar white pegasus was standing among the ponies inside, and as he noticed Pit he gave him a respectful nod.

"Captain," he said.

"Um, hi. So what's this letter about?"

"It is from Queen Cadence," said Luna. "She says…you should read it for yourself," she levitated it over to Pit, leaving it floating in front of his face so he could read it.

"_Dear Aunt Luna and all of you there in Canterlot,_

_I'm writing to say how sincerely sorry I am that I can't leave my duties as ruler of the Crystal Kingdom to help you in your battle against the monsters at this moment in time. Even if I could manage the take the time off, I'm not even sure how I could help! What use is the power of love against a kingdom filled with evil?_

_But asides from that, I'm writing to say that Shining Armour has just set out for Manehatten. He plans on fortifying the city to make sure that no monsters get in, I hope you find this a good idea. He told me that if any of you have any orders for him he'll gladly follow them, all you need to do is to send my Royal Messenger (who brought this letter to you, his name is Swift Sky) to Manehatten telling him what to do._

_I hope you're all in good health and I'll remain optimistic that the monsters will be driven out of Equestria before too long._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Cadence._"

"Perfect," Pit declared. "And I don't even mean that sarcastically, it really is perfect. Guards in Manehatten from elsewhere means that we won't have to send any of our numbers to go out there and fortify it instead."

"Any orders?" said Swift Sky hopefully.

"Not just yet. But, if you want to make yourself useful…"

"Her Highness told me I was to stay here as long as I was needed, and, to be blunt, I really want to help in any way I can."

"Hey, Rainbow, want a temporary assistant?"

"I'll take it," Rainbow shrugged, but grinned.

"Alight then. Swift Sky, this is Rainbow Dash. She was going to go to Cloudsdale with two-hundred enlistment posters. I want you to go with her and help her distribute them. I'm pretty sure she'll tell you her plan."

"You're the pegasus that can perform the sonic rainboom, aren't you?" he said turning to Rainbow, who looked _very _pleased to be recognised.

"You bet I am. Heard of me?"

"I was at the wedding when you performed it, it was magnificent! It will be an honour to work with you."

"Er, great! In that case, Twilight, load up the bags, we're goin' to Cloudsdale!"

"Load the bags up yourself, _I _have work to do," the unicorn replied, a tad smugly, before looking up at the turquoise unicorn beside her. "Prince Marth, to the library!"

"Please, Miss Sparkle, call me 'Marth'," he said with a smile, and the two of them trotted out. Pit rolled his eyes. Marth was a sucker for any woman with a high IQ at Brawl (which basically narrowed it down to Zelda and Samus, it had to be said), and it seemed it didn't change if it was a mare with a high IQ either.

"I'll help you get loaded up, Rainbow Dash," Pit said once the two unicorns had left. "And Link, you get all your kit ready, we're gonna head off to explore as soon as I've had something to eat. Oh. You're already ready. In that case…um, I dunno, just chill. Applejack, got anything I can eat for breakfast?"

"Sure, ya can have some bread. In that box," she nodded at one of the cardboard boxes that were stacked near the fireplace. "Princess, you ready to go start fixin' this place up?"

"Yes, Applejack, I think so. Cadence's letter somehow makes me feel better about things," said the alicorn with a smile.

"I think she jus' has that kinda effect on ponies. Let's go. See ya later, Captain!"

"Bye Applejack." And then it was just Pit, Link and the two pegasi, who had begun to empty out saddlebags and carefully put posters in. Link made no move to help, instead preferring to roll a water bomb around precariously, but the Angel went over to help them instead. Only _then _did he finally get something to eat.

* * *

**So what did you think of the song, eh? All the songs I'm using are related to what's going on in the story even without the lyrics rewrite, so go ahead and speculate as to what OTHER songs I will be using (teaser: NEXT ONE UP IS A DISNEY OOOOOH YEAH). Not the best stuff, I'll admit, 'cause I only found out there's a website for finding rhymes AFTER I wrote the lyrics. And the words may not match up perfectly. I don't know. Trust me, the other ones I've written are better. Anyway, there a whole bunch of plot points in this chapter that I'm probably going to forget about. I don't know that either. IMPROVISATION EVERYBODY.**


End file.
